Idylls
by Ryo Hoshi
Summary: Zelgadiss, on the trail of what might be a cure, goes to investigate a mysterious phenomenon in the Desert of Destruction. Set postTRY. Rated PG13 for a combination of mostly nekkid chimera & implied sex.
1. Prologue

Okay, a little explanation for this one...   
I've been disagreeing with my muse over some choices I need to make in a lot of my currently-going work, and somewhere along the line she threw this at my head.   
I really don't know quite where it wants to go, nor quite just what this one wants to be...   
Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi +  
**Prologue**

The wind blew. Usually, this is an expected and common-place event, but in this case it was not. These winds blew night and day around an unnaturally permanent and stormcloud-dark fog that hung low over the earth just a few feet ahead of Zelgadiss's location, bottling in the fog and hiding it behind a curtain of sand.   
Zelgadiss had overheard some caravan-people talking about this place in hushed tones when he had went into a small town on the edge of the desert as he was heading away from the desert and towards greener places. _This_ place, they said, was a place of magic, of unnatural events and things...   
And, he hoped, his cure.   
That was why he had ventured back into the Desert of Destruction, even though he had been planning before to head back to Saillune. He doubted that the magical text that the particular book in the old ruins had said was hidden in the capital of Saillune was still there, really. If it was, he would surely have heard of it before, no less seen it...   
He took a deep breath and stepped into the wind. The wind tugged at his clothes, at his body, and the dust in the air made him close his eyes. Carefully, he took another step forward, another, and...   
The ground suddenly wasn't under his feet anymore, and he was falling. 

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That just seems to be the right place to end this installment. Tune back in next time for more story!   
Comments, well-considered suggestions, and complements are welcomed and might even get me to write faster if my muse is up to it. 


	2. 1 Noumena of Spirit

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi +  
**1** +===+ **Noumena of Spirit**

Zelgadiss blinked, and sat up. _That was a strange dream_, he thought. _I wish it was real._ He pushed himself up into a sitting position on the cold concrete floor, feeling aches that even his body would get on such a hard surface, and picked a few of the rotten straws from the pile he used as a pillow out of his hair.   
It was yet another morning at the zoo. 

He really wasn't sure how he got there. _**He**_ had been drugged at the time: Lina had given Amelia some sleeping potion, and Amelia had given him a large mug of coffee well-laced with it and milk. He had taken it -- he preferred his coffee black, but...it _was_ Amelia -- and drunk it.   
He had been such a fool. Such a trusting fool...   
He should have _known_ a princess like her... _His_ beautiful, kind, warm, pure, and innocent princess (with large tracks of land)...   
That some_thing_ like himself couldn't, shouldn't have her, would never _keep_ her.   
When he had woken up, he was in his new home: a cement cell, with orihalcon bars and reinforcement. All his clothes were gone, replaced by a nice new loincloth that would only cover what it had to and a pair of bracelets that kept him from using his magic or his strength to escape.   
The loincloth, he had been told by the zookeeper, was a gift from Gourry; the zoo had not been willing to pay for _any_ of his clothes, only for him.   
He looked by the slot in the magically sealed door. There was a tray, with a bowl full of lukewarm mysterious grain-based concoction. He sighed; it never _had_ varied. Every meal for the last five years... _I shouldn't have hoped that I'd get something nice to eat to mark off my fifth year here._   
He picked up the metal mug and took a sip, expecting water.   
It was coffee.   
He smiled blissfully. So, his friend, the zookeeper, had remembered after all... He would _have_ to thank him; coffee had been marked as forbidden, a dangerous substance to give to the animal, along with food that could be identified and tasted good.   
He sat, quietly, in the closest to private area he had outside of the trench they had provided for him to...dispose of waste in (where he could only be watched by those who worked for the zoo) and drank his coffee happily. 

Eventually, Zelgadiss finished his coffee, ate the 'food', and used the trench. He settled down in the public area of his cell -- he had found out that he would not be given food on days where he didn't do that -- and napped until noon, ignoring the crowds.   
"Look, Takeshi-chan! There's the chimera!" called a familiar voice.   
The chimera looked up, and then rushed to the bars. "Amelia?"   
_Amelia!_ he thought. _She's finally visiting me..._ He looked her over; she looked like she was doing well. (Her already large tracks of land, he noticed, had become even larger.) She was holding the hand of a small child, who wearing a dark amethyst shirt and black pants. Zelgadiss noticed, as he warily looked at child, that the child's profile and hairstyle looked _very_ much like Amelia's...   
The boy turned his eyes towards Zelgadiss, and the light shone on his hair. They were purple. "Is that the chimera Father and you have told me about, Mother?"   
Zelgadiss sat still, stunned. Amelia...and Xelloss? But he had thought that Xelloss had been interested in Filia...   
"Yes, Takeshi-chan... We all sold him to the zoo..." she said, smiling to her son. She transferred her smile to Zelgadiss, though. "Zelgadiss-san, I'd like you to meet my son, Takeshi Xelloss Saillune. He's only four and a half years old..."   
Zelgadiss looked from Takeshi to Amelia, his feelings written clearly in his face. "You... Xelloss and you had already...when...?"   
"Xelloss-san is my husband, though of course since Takeshi-chan's my heir he has my surname..." Amelia giggled. "The money the zoo paid us for you covered his birth."   
"A...Amelia...why?" Zelgadiss hadn't thought that seeing Amelia again could hurt so much. Did he still, somehow, love her?   
After all this time, after all that had happened...?   
Amelia smiled. It wasn't **her** smile, though. It was **Xelloss's** smile that she was smiling.   
Zelgadiss chuckled, a desperate edge to the sound, and reached a hand out between the bars, reaching for her... To touch, and to find out, if the person was really Amelia, or Xelloss disguised as her...   
As he reached, he realized he was loosing his balance, and he started to fall forward into the bars... His eyes went wide, remembering how much it had hurt the last time he touched the bars, and tried to stop his fall, but he was too late and he kept falling, falling... 

And he landed on sand, dressed in his normal clothes. Zelgadiss stood up, and looked around. He was in an unnaturally calm area between two walls of sand suspended in the wind. 

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Reviews would be very much liked, and will encourage me to write faster. (Or, rather, encourage my muse to be kinder to me and give me the next part sooner rather than later.) 


	3. 2 Scatter January

Thank you, all you reviewers. In particular: Thanks to Irony, who is inspired to provide this story with art, so if I should find it webspace again it will be illustrated. Thanks to Icka-san and Miss Toggle, for repeat reviews. Thanks to Mynuet, for giving my muse chocolate kisses. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**2** +===+ **Scatter January**

The wind-borne walls of sand stretched as far as Zelgadiss could see in both directions, always the same distance apart. They curved, slowly, in unison, both imposing walls of dark beige with a light beige strip between them.  
Zelgadiss looked up and saw white, bright, cloudless sky above his head, in a strip to match the sand beneath his feet. Its edges were neat, as if somebody had cut a strip of the sky out to make a roof. Its glaring white color and sourceless light was disturbing.  
There was something else wrong, but he couldn't initially put a name to it.  
Then he realized what it was.  
There was no sound. The winds that held up the walls should have been roaring loudly; instead, the only indication that Zelgadiss had that the sand was moving was the shifting patterns of dark beige and the quickly altering textures of them.  
The only sound Zelgadiss could hear was his own breathing and the white noise of his own blood in his ears.  
Zelgadiss stood up, chose a direction, and started walking. 

_I could walk forever_, Zelgadiss thought as he trudged along, _and never notice it_. He wasn't sure of the time anymore. The 'sky' above his head was still as bright as it had been when he started walking, and the view from horizon to horizon was the same.  
He thought about the strange...vision? he had experienced when he had stepped through one of the two walls -- he could no longer remember which wall it had been.  
He could vividly remember it.  
Five long, lonely, embarrassing years of being on display in a zoo. Sold there by his friends and his pregnant beloved, who was not pregnant by him -- no, he knew that he was still a virgin when it came to women, there, though once sold he was not as fortunate to remain so physically innocent.  
Even now, it _felt_ like it was real, his spirit _insisted_ that it was real.  
He knew, though, that it wasn't real. It had been only an illusion brought on by something there.  
Zelgadiss lifted his canteen and unscrewed its top. He fumbled a few times, his entire body shaking slightly. The sight of Amelia's bracelet on it helped slightly.  
Amelia in the vision wore both of her bracelets, having reclaimed the one she had given him -- perhaps to gain his trust? -- when they sold him.  
Once he had its top undone, he lifted it to his lips.  
From the sound of it, there wasn't much left.  
Zelgadiss looked from wall to wall and back to wall.  
If he chose the right wall, he might be able to refill his canteen.  
If he chose the wrong wall, he might die of dehydration.  
_Not much choice._  
Zelgadiss picked a wall and stepped into it. 

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I know, I know, this wasn't quite worth the wait... My muse wanted to work a bit on something else before she'd let me work more on this.  
As always, comments and complements wanted, encouragement enjoyed, and they all might, just might, encourage my muse to let me work on this story's next part sooner. 


	4. 3 Drops, Rain, and Sea

Woah... So many reviews on that last chapter. I'll quickly answer questions before I start on the next installment of this story.  
My muse has this _thing_ about Zelgadiss and cliffs. As for the chapter titles... They are a reference to an album. Bonus points to whomever can guess which album and whose album.  
Thank you to repeat reviewers Moro, Lauren, Sharon Toggle, and Mynuet. Thank you also to first-time reviewers Aloria, Faith, and Shizukanaryu. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**3** +===+ **Drops, Rain, and Sea**

Water.  
Falling, hitting his skin hard, feeling like hailstones.  
Feeling...  
Like...?  
Zelgadiss looked at his skin. It was a pale shade of rosy-cream beige, and most definitely not blue stone. He jumped up and...  
He groaned quietly. His ribs still hurt from Amelia's hug. Had she only bruised them, or had she broken them? He suspected that they were broken; a hug from somebody with a golem's strength...  
Then, the rest of Zelgadiss's brain started to work.  
_Of course I'm still human_, he thought. _I'm not **lucky** enough to just wake up a chimera again one day_ He sighed, and stared at the fire, wondering if it was worth the effort of restoring.  
It _had_ been a strange dream. A chimera, in a world of humans. It was so close to what he had wanted years ago, when he had still been deluded by the old tales, which said that being a pure human was a wonderful condition, and being a chimera was a curse -- just like it had been in his dream.  
Of course, that had been before the plague swept through, a few generations ago. Most people then had agreed to become chimeras, after it had been discovered that chimeras were immune to it. Now, there were few people who were fully human.  
Most of them would become chimeras themselves, given the chance.  
Zelgadiss was not at all sure why _he_ had wanted to become human.  
It was _horrible_ being fully human. He was weak and powerless, and even the most casual of contacts with another person could result in his injury.  
He didn't even look right. His hair, which had once been lovely silver wires with lavender highlights, was now soft and a strange dark purple color. His skin, which had been a nice shade of blue, with good granite pebbles, was now soft and a pink color that would have been a good sign of sickness before.  
His companions didn't mind his weakness. Lina, with her lovely copper hair and red agate pebbles, and Gourry, with his long golden hair and riverstone pebbles, simply ignored it. He was glad that the fourth regular member of their group had managed to teach him some nice, basic healing spells.  
Zelgadiss sighed as he thought of her. Amelia was beautiful. Her white marble pebbles were all in just the right spots -- not that it would have been that easy for one to be in a bad spot. Her silver hair had a natural black to it, not the grey-black of tarnish.  
She was the most lovely woman he had ever seen.  
And he couldn't even...  
He closed his eyes, feeling the old, familiar feeling of something -- helplessness? -- hit him like a kick in the gut. He was too fragile. What to her would be a gentle hug would bruise him. A passionate embrace? That could easily be his death.  
But he wanted so much to be able to show her how he felt about her. 

He didn't want to have his blood on her hands. 

Zelgadiss sighed, and looked at the sky. It wasn't getting any lighter, as far as he could tell, and it didn't look like it was going to stop raining anytime soon. He shivered and pulled his cloak closer to himself.  
He really didn't think he was lucky that nothing had attacked while he had fallen asleep. He _was_, after all, _supposed_ to be on watch. But he didn't think anything would be too inclined to attack in this weather.  
The weather promised to be wet and muddy. This did not bode well for Zelgadiss. With his skin, he'd feel the cold and damp, while the others' main worry would be the possibility of moss or mildew. The mud, a detail to them, could easily make his own progress slower than their own.  
He didn't like feeling like he was a burden on the others, but he knew he was. He wasn't as fast, as strong, or as tough as they were. He dragged them into out-of-the-way places, delaying their own progress to their goals simply so they could protect him.  
This time he was taking them to a little village on the coast, which according to the rumors had not been touched as greatly by the plague and by fear of it. The rumors said that there was a sorcery lab there where a person could get turned into a chimera -- which would have made it one of the few sorcery labs that still did that.  
Zelgadiss tried not to hope. He had his hopes dashed too many times already. He didn't want that kind of hurt this time. 

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For faster writing, comments and complements enhance my motivation to bother. Those and chocolate enhance my muse's speed. (Dark chocolate, please.) 


	5. 4 Ladonna Dissima

Sorry about this being so delayed. I had trouble with writing one scene, and in the end I had to rewrite some parts to get around that problem. Hopefully, this works, now.  
Thank you to all the repeat reviewers who reviewed the last installment: Faith, Moro, Aloria, Lauren, Sharon Toggle, Icka-san, and Mynuet. There are no first-time reviewers to thank this time, sadly. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**4** +===+ **Ladonna Dissima**

Zelgadiss woke up again as he felt a blanket getting gently wrapped around him. He blushed, knowing that he had been caught sleeping while he was on watch. He could even tell who had caught him...  
Lina would have hit him (gently).  
Gourry would have just (gently) shaken him awake. Gourry also had a much better grip of the concept of 'gently'; the last time Lina had hit him, Amelia had ended up spending the rest of the day healing Zelgadiss's skull. He was lucky that it was only a minor fracture...  
Amelia was the only one who would gently -- and with her, it would be truly gentle, instead of only gentle in the comparative sense -- wrap a blanket around him.  
"Good morning, Zelgadiss-san," a soft voice whispered.  
"Good morning, Amelia. Are the others up yet?"  
"Not yet. I've already started the fire going, so when Lina-san wakes up she can go fishing like she said she would last night... I've got a pot of water hanging over it for coffee or tea, too," she added with a slight smile.  
Zelgadiss sighed, but he smiled too. He didn't like being taken care of, really, but... Amelia was so gentle about it, so caring... So loving.  
He looked around, to find something else to talk about, and saw that his cape had been hung on a nearby branch to dry. Amelia noticed his gaze, and blushed slightly. "Zelgadiss-san, I hope you don't mind that I..."  
Zelgadiss smiled quickly. "It's alright, Amelia. It needs to dry..."  
Amelia smiled happily. 

Half a day later, Amelia and Zelgadiss entered turned onto the road to their goal. Lina and Gourry had parted company, Lina wanting to look for some local treasure before going to the town. He didn't mind; he got to be alone with Amelia.  
It was more of a narrow path than a real road, filled with brush and loose rocks. It was clear that the trail was not often used, and not at all maintained. They stumbled through, Zelgadiss's comparatively slow reaction times and Amelia's occasional clumsiness matching them on the times they fell.  
At the end of the trail, Amelia stumbled and took out a bush, revealing the small town.  
They could see the people of the town -- really, it was more of a village -- going about their daily business. Every single one of them was human. 

Zelgadiss and Amelia ate dinner at the inn. People had stared at Amelia, looking... curious. Zelgadiss felt an unnamable worry nibbling at him. The entire place felt... wrong.  
As Zelgadiss looked at his pile of plates carefully, to make sure they were properly stacked, and Amelia settled back in her chair, the innkeeper walked to their table. "Sir, Ma'am, I hope you don't mind but...there's only one room left, and..." The innkeeper stopped, seeing four eyes looking at him intently. "Here's the key..." There was a metallic kind of plop as the key hit the wooden tabletop.  
Amelia picked up the key, looking at its tag. Zelgadiss coughed, embarrassed. "It doesn't look like this village would get many visitors..."  
The innkeeper smiled and shrugged. "Most of our rooms are getting rented out on a permanent basis. People...don't leave here."  
Zelgadiss followed Amelia up the stairs, wondering why people didn't often leave the village. 

Zelgadiss found out why the next morning. He woke up, tangled up in his blankets -- he had insisted that Amelia have the bed; even though he was human, she was still a young lady. Her breathing sounded harsh, and he quickly got up.  
Amelia was sweating. Her sheets were already soaked, and her skin was hot to the touch. Zelgadiss frowned slightly. _The first symptoms of the plague..._ He shook his head. Amelia was a chimera, and chimeras were not supposed to get the plague.  
It didn't change the fact that Amelia was sick with _something_.  
Zelgadiss rushed out of the room and towards the stairs, where he ran straight into the innkeeper.  
"She's sick, isn't she?" the innkeeper said, looking mournful.  
"How do you know?" Zelgadiss demanded.  
"A...mutation of the plague developed here. It only seems to effect chimeras, though we think that the entire village carries it." There was a long pause. "That's why we don't leave here... Didn't you see the signs on the trail?"  
"There were signs on the trail?"  
The innkeeper frowned. "There should have been."  
Then his expression softened. "Go back to your room and look after her. I'll fetch what you'll need -- breakfast, some water and cloths for cooling her..."  
Zelgadiss smiled slightly, thankful for the offer of help. "Alright..." 

Zelgadiss sat in the chair beside the sickbed. Amelia's condition had worsened during the night. The last of her stones had just melted away during the night as gritty liquid. Now her bed was slowly getting soaked with the blood that seeped through her skin, seeping noticeably faster from where the stones had been embedded in her skin.  
As he reached out and touched her chest, his gentle touch causing the skin there to bleed slightly quicker, he could hardly believe that it had only been a week since her fever had started. Afraid, he felt for the gentle rise and fall of her chest to tell him that she was still breathing, with his fingertips sticky with her blood...  
And he waited.  
The early morning light changed into the light of noon as he waited, hoping to feel her breathe, and he realized that she had died during the night.  
Zelgadiss gently pulled the sheet up over her head, covering her body. He would replace signs on the trail, if the villagers hadn't already, in to warn any travelers of the danger, and then...  
Then... 

He stood on the cliff, watching the sunset. The signs were in place, properly this time. He had nothing left that he had to do...  
Nothing...but one last thing?  
He looked back at the inn, and smiled slightly. Looking back at the ocean, he stepped forward.  
_I might just be a carrier for this plague,_ he though, knowing it was merely rationalization for his actions. 

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Hope this chapter wasn't disappointing... Comments and complements will encourage me; chocolate serves well as a bribe to my muse. 


	6. 5 Stir About the Stars

This chapter pretty much wrote itself. I'm so happy!  
Thank you to the people who have reviewed the last chapter so far... I'm very glad that you remembered this story, Lauren-sama... It's very nice to also have several new reviewers. Thank you, Winged Dancer and KellyChan -- I've been enjoying your stories very much.  
Meneguilda, your review of the 4th chapter was garbled by FF.net; was the review you left for the 3rd chapter the rest of it? Thank you for reading this so far, even though it's not your usual type.  
As for Zelgadiss getting hurt in _this_ chapter, Moro... He just jumped off a cliff, into the ocean; this is something that tends to result in death. I hope you don't mind if I decide to be a bit nicer to him in this chapter... 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzanka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**5** +===+ **Stir About the Stars**

Zelgadiss felt himself falling downwards, and then suddenly falling sideways. His body felt heavier, too, and somehow that felt right. He tried to stop himself, so he could try to stop feeling so disoriented, but he stumbled and momentum kept him moving, straight towards a wall of shifting sand... 

Zelgadiss felt a hand gently shaking him, and a familiar voice calling his name. He wiggled so that he was sitting up in his bed and, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, saw that Rezo was sitting on the edge of his bed. He noticed that Rezo looked worried.  
"Zelgadiss-chan, you were having a nightmare..." Rezo said, softly.  
Zelgadiss smiled at Rezo, a bright, sunny smile that looked perfectly at home on his young face. "I'm not afraid of anything, Grandfather, as long as you're here!" he said, with the confidence of a seven-year-old child.  
But that was alright: he was a seven year old, who had just had a nightmare which he couldn't remember much of besides the parts about an evil monster taking away his grandfather, and a girl who he wanted to play with and who wanted to play with him, but the evil monster wouldn't let him...  
Zelgadiss hugged his grandfather. _I won't let that evil monster take Grandfather away... Me and the girl and Grandfather will live together forever, and we'll all be happy and I and the girl would play all day while Grandfather works in his lab on all sorts of wonderful things..._ "I want to be strong like you, grandfather!"  
_And Grandfather will sometimes watch me and the girl as we play, happy because he can see us..._  
Rezo smiled, and though it was perhaps not a truly happy smile, Zelgadiss felt better. Zel yawned, and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.  
"Are you too tired to go look at the stars, Zelgadiss-san?" Rezo asked gently, and Zelgadiss woke up quickly. He had completely forgotten that his grandfather had promised to go look at the stars with him tonight. "Eris made some hot chocolate for us..."  
Zelgadiss smiled happily. _Eris-san's not that bad, for a bossy girl!_  
"We'll also have some cinnamon buns with us..." If Rezo could see, he would have noticed stars in Zelgadiss's eyes as the bait was taken. "Now, you need to get dressed. You don't want to get grass stains on your pajamas."  
Zelgadiss looked horrified at _that_ thought. He loved his pajamas, they were his favorite color (blue, of course) and all worn and comfortable in all the right places. As Rezo turned and left to room to wait at the front door for Zelgadiss, the pajamas went flying. There was a pause, and then they were picked up and carefully folded up and put on the pillow.  
Zelgadiss quickly pulled a pair of tan pants on -- their shade suggested that they had been at some point white, and dirt had gotten ground in -- and a blue shirt the same color as his pajamas. He looked longingly at the door, wanting to run out and join Rezo now, but he knew it was cold outside and his grandfather always seemed to sense it if he shivered... He grabbed his red scarf, a gift from his grandfather, and wrapped it around his neck.  
Before he went to the door, he stopped to look into a mirror. It was in a hand-carved wooden cabinet, one of the few things he had left of his parents', and ran his fingers through his hair. He smiled to himself in the mirror. _Perfect,_ he thought to himself.  
Just in case he ran into the girl. 

Rezo smiled as Zelgadiss ran to the door, only pausing to put his shoes on. "Ready to go, Zelgadiss-chan?" He smiled, sensing Zel's enthusiastic nodding. "Let's go, then."  
The pair set off up the path and towards the flat rock they often had picnics on, Rezo carrying a basket and Zelgadiss running ahead. 

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Alright, folks, you know the usual request... Complements and useful comments will encourage me to try to write faster. Dark chocolate will encourage my muse to cooperate with me. Chibi Zelgadiss will take cinnamon buns as bribes to...hang around being kawaii, I suppose. 


	7. 6 This Endris Night

Well, here's the next chapter...  
Thank you, Mynuet, Winged Dancer, Lauren-sama, Moro, Elf, and Kel, for your reviews. Chibi Zel's happily been sharing his cinnamon rolls with his friend: Amelia at what looks to be the age of five. (She just turned up... They're getting along happily.) 

Sadly, this chapter hasn't gone at all well in letting me _write_ it. Chibi Zelgadiss is just too damn sweet & kawaii. Whenever I tried to get T-sama to actually _work_ on this chapter, he'd look so sad (and Amelia often does, too, out of sympathy for him) and T-sama...gave in.  
Currently, she's cooing at him and Amelia, cuddled up together with _my_ favorite blanket wrapped around them after having given them hot chocolate and cinnamon buns so they'll not cry...  
I really wish I could be annoyed at that. But it's so _**sweet**_! 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**6** +===+ **This Endris Night**

Zelgadiss ran around excitedly, happy to be allowed to be awake and out of bed so late. Rezo, on the other hand, was much calmer. He spread out the blanket on the rock, and put the basket down on it. "Zelgadiss-chan, come sit down if you want any of the hot chocolate and cinnamon buns," he called out as he sat down beside the basket.  
Zelgadiss stopped running around in the cool autumn air and sat down beside Rezo so quickly that it might have reasonably been thought that he had teleported. Smiling angelically, he took the mug of hot chocolate and the cinnamon bun that Rezo handed him and started eating.  
Rezo smiled, sensing Zel's excitement. He sipped at his own mug, and waited for the boy to scoot a bit closer before starting to teach him the lore of the stars. 

"The seven princesses wasted away, yearning for their dead fianceés. Eventually, they died of grief and were placed, as stars, in the sky." Zelgadiss looked up at the Pleiades, eyes wide and shiny. The story of seven heroic brothers and their beloveds was so romantic.  
Zelgadiss had never gotten to actually go stargazing before. Before his parents had died, the woman who had been taking care of him had always put him to bed well before sunset, even during the winter. Then, after they had died and Rezo took him away (though the woman seemed to want to keep him), Zelgadiss had found himself so busy learning new things that he was sound asleep by the time the stars came out.  
The night sky was beautiful. Zelgadiss could understand why people told such wonderful stories about it, and why people would want to look at it... He glanced upwards at his guardian's always-closed eyes shyly. "You must really want to see them..."  
Rezo's face turned, and he smiled softly. "Yes, Zelgadiss-chan. I want to know what the stars and the moon really look like, and I can't do that except by seeing them with my own eyes. Even those who were blessed with telepathy, even those whose skills are as strong as Chiara's were, can only 'read' another's thoughts and send only words."  
Zelgadiss could tell that Rezo was sad, and wanted to cheer him up. "When I grow up, Grandfather, and I'm big and strong, I'll find a cure for you! I promise I will! And then you can see the moon and the stars and _everything_ for yourself!"  
Rezo smiled, and pulled Zelgadiss into his lap. "You really do remind me of Chiara sometimes, Zelgadiss-chan. I'm sure you'll grow up to be like your grandmother."   
Zel smiled happily and snuggled against his grandfather. It was warm, and he felt safe there as he sipped hot chocolate and watched the stars, fascinated by them. Suddenly, he noticed a bright light shoot across the sky, falling downwards. He sprang up, spilling all the hot chocolate left in his mug all over Rezo and himself in his excitement.  
Zelgadiss gasped as he realized what he had just done. "I'm sorry, Grandfather!" he said, expecting to be forgiven and comforted.  
Instead, he was slapped so hard his ears rang. He looked up at his grandfather, his blue eyes wide with surprise and confusion, and saw that Rezo's eyes were open and red. They were not red in the usual sense, or even in a human sense. They were a solid, glowing ruby red.  
Zelgadiss suddenly felt very, _very_ afraid. Following his instincts, which had served him so well when the woman who had taken care of him before had been in a bad mood, he fled.  
Rezo chased after him, yelling and moving faster than Zel. Zelgadiss wasn't surprised, though he wished he had. The woman had always caught him, too.  
He prayed that Rezo'd be kinder than the woman was about punishing him for daring to flee. She had always been able to come up with the most painful, humiliating punishments for him... 

Zelgadiss wasn't sure _how_ he had managed to get out. He was all alone again, in the unnatural stillness between two windy walls of sand. He didn't really want to remember it, anyway.  
He would rather not think about how much he had once loved Rezo, nor the good times they had together when he was little. Remembering that made it too hard to hate Rezo, and it was so much _easier_ to hate Rezo and reject the very idea that Shabranigdo might have been the one truly responsible for his condition. As long as he blamed Rezo, he could keep believing it when he told himself there _had_ to be a cure out there, somewhere.  
As long as he kept blaming Rezo, he didn't have to feel guilty about blaming Rezo for what he only did because of Shabranigdo's influence. It was so much easier to do that than to admit that what Lina had said back then was almost certainly true.  
At least this place, when it had brought up one of the sweet memories he had of his childhood with Rezo, had warped it. It was sort of a mixed blessing, though. He wasn't sure why, but he found it harder to deny the truth anymore.  
With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet. He ignored the phantom aches and pains from what Rezo had done to him after catching him in that last nightmare. _Maybe everything will be much easier if I try the next wall..._  
He pushed against it gently. It held for a few seconds before giving suddenly and he found himself falling once more into the unknown. 

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Hmm... There's not much in the way of notes for this one, but I'll do what I can.  
I feel that Zel would have been an idealist when he was younger, somebody who loved fairy tales and believed that they could come true, and when Rezo betrayed him and turned him into a chimera, he turned bitter and cynical towards his former ideals. I see him as having been very close to Rezo, though sometimes traveling on his own to sharpen his skills around the time Rezo transformed him.  
At least here, he's always been a cute and _very_ pretty child, quite sweet and rather oblivious to some of the bad things going on around him. At least here, his parents seem to have suffered some misfortune before their untimely death; the woman who was taking care of him when he was very small was not doing it because she was getting paid for it or because she _liked_ Zel. I'm not certain what her plans for him were, if she wanted him for herself or so she could give a (spoiled rotten) daughter a husband of good breeding. Either way, that woman wasn't a nice person.  
I refuse to say anything more than I already have about what Rezo did to Zel in the warped memory. I'm quite happy with the current rating, really, and don't want to risk getting into shotacon territory. 

Reviews will encourage me to try to get the next chapter out sooner. Dark chocolate also will help, particularly in combination with reviews. Chibi Zel and Ame will be cute for cinnamon buns. 


	8. 7 Waiting for the Sunrise

I'm afraid that this seems to be a bit of a 'bridge' so it's not going to be a really long chapter. I'm really sorry, but the timing of this story shifted suddenly on me.  
Because there's so many reviews to reply to this time, I've placed the replies at the very end. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**7** +===+ **Waiting for the Sunrise**

Zelgadiss's eyes snapped open. It had felt so _real_, but it couldn't have been. He was happy, he was _human_, and he was on his way to Saillune.  
The inn's bed felt so _comfortable_, though, that he almost wanted to spend the rest of his life right there. But he was finally free of his curse, and there was somebody whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and besides that, he could always come back here with her.  
He smiled at that thought and pulled himself out of bed. The sooner he left, the sooner he could seriously contemplate bringing her here. After all, he was less than a day away from his goal, now.  
That thought buoyed him along as he quickly got back onto the road. Saillune was only a few hours away, and if he hurried, he could be close enough to watch the sun rise over the city. 

Zelgadiss couldn't help but mull over his nightmare of the night before. It was different from his nightmare about when Rezo had transformed him, but... The same sense of betrayal was there.  
It just wasn't the same kind of betrayal. Rezo had been a very kind 'parent' to him, really, right up until when he became a teenager and started spending so much time outside, practicing with his sword after realizing how weak his own skills at magic were compared to almost all the sorcerers he knew that well and how long it would take him to gain the skills needed to compare well to any of them. He knew that he would never admit it to anybody, but what had hurt the worst was the realization, once he actually got wider experience with sorcery, that even before his transformation he was already far stronger than most sorcerers would have been at the same age as him when he gave up.  
Rezo hadn't really understood why he had taken up the sword. A sword was, as a rule, something that was only rarely useful against really dangerous creatures unless it was a magic sword. Not only that, but magical swords that would be anywhere near as useful against such things as mazoku were hard to come by, and the crafting of such blades were more than anything else a specialty.  
But, regardless of what happened later, for a long time Rezo was the nicest person he knew. Rezo had rescued him from the woman who had been his parents' landlord, whom he had eventually realized was not as nice as he had thought she was when he had been much more innocent. He was given a good home, with good food and clothes, and a wonderful education.  
Perhaps that was what made the nightmare so bad. It had started out as one of the sweeter memories he had of Rezo, which he tried hard not to think too much about. In reality, Rezo had been so very kind and understanding when he'd poured hot chocolate onto his guardian. He had been hugged, and reassured that it was alright and things would be taken care of so he didn't need to worry.  
Well, _Eris_ had been very angry with him, but that was Eris. Rezo hadn't attacked him, in any way, for the accident.  
No matter how many times he told himself that, though, it still felt so real. If he let himself think too much about it, he almost forgot what had really happened. The false memory became so vivid that he could feel the bruises where Rezo had hit him, the scratches and cuts where he'd been scratched, the soreness caused by...  
Zelgadiss shook his head, pushing those thoughts from his mind and watched the colors wash over the walls of Saillune with a smile. His timing was perfect, and it was a beautiful sight. Something stirred in his heart at it, and he felt like he had finally arrived somewhere he could call home. He didn't want to taint this with such confusing and painful thoughts, not when he was finally free to tell her how he felt about her. 

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There's not much I can say about this one, except Zelgadiss doesn't like being happy. I'm really sorry it took so long to get this out. The next chapter should be out sooner... 

Running through the most current set of reviews...  
I'm really amazed at how popular young Zel and Ame are, though admittedly they're usually very sweet and quite cute. (Usually.) I'm somewhat tempted to start up a little shrine for them, and if anybody supplies fanart of them or a story about them, I will go ahead and set it up. (Just remember: They're really, really young.)  
Winged Dancer & Lauren-sama, in many ways I'm a fan of Rezo. That may be part of why I tend to be kind to him when I write him...and he does seem to like turning up in my writing. Thank you for the support, WD, and the abruptness of Rezo's anger had been intended, Lauren-sama, though it's not exactly Rezo there...  
On a similar note, Kioku, I definitely agree with the theory that Zelgadiss had to have been an idealist when he was a child. It's rare for somebody to be bitter about something they never were, since usually when it's simply a case of having been tormented by others' with the particular quality the result is bitterness directed at the others', not the quality itself. I did intend to make people want to protect Zel's younger self, and I'm glad I've been successful.  
(By the way, Kioku, that was an amazingly long review. Thanks for all the feedback about the old chapters, so few people do it all at once.)  
Amechan, it's very nice to have a new reader. Thank you for the complements. I hope that you didn't find this chapter disappointing.  
Thank you for the review, Sis of the Darkness. Ameria, I'm glad you enjoyed the random Monty Python reference, and I like dark chocolate too.  
Kioku, Winged Dancer, thanks for the dark chocolate! 

Meanwhile, the chibis have been acting like, well, children. Currently, Zel's not allowed cinnamon rolls because he made Ame cry. I'm not sure how he did that, and I don't care. He's not supposed to do whatever it was again. Ame can have cinnamon rolls, though, because she's been a good girl. Just ignore Zel's begging.  
Dark chocolate for me and reviews will also be acceptable forms of encouragement. 


	9. 8 Love's Labour's Lost

Little Zel and Ame are getting along well, and have been unusually well-behaved. They've been spending a lot of time being very cute together... I think Zel's learned his lesson about not making little Ame cry.  
Now, going through the reviews...  
Kioku, if I'm a dreamwalker, I'm quite oblivious to it. Thanks for the complements, though!  
Lauren-sama, I highly recommend rereading this if you're disoriented. As for being paranoid, it's not paranoia if you've every reason to believe that you're right. (Oh, and the prologue has a hint on where Zelgadiss has ended up...) Just don't expect any deeper significance behind his 'Rezo dream' anytime soon!  
By the way, Lauren-sama, you've missed a chapter of Mr Somewhere.  
Amechan, I'm so glad you weren't disappointed! I like Rezo a lot, really. I may go into more detail about that part of Zel's past sometime, if people are really interested... I hope you're not disappointed by this chapter, though. (Also, I'm happy you liked the bed part.) 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**8** +===+ **Love's Labour's Lost**

Zelgadiss did his best to not let how nervous he was show as he sat in the parlor he'd been shown to by a succession of servants. It just wasn't quite the reception he had expected, but he knew that he really shouldn't be surprised. Amelia was queen now, having chose to take up the crown her father had insisted remain unoccupied during his time ruling Saillune since the king had not officially abdicated.  
He wondered, briefly, if Prince Philionel was still alive. The last Zel knew, the man had simply retired to the country when his daughter had been crowned. Well, if everything went right (and it would), he'd know soon enough.  
A servant brought in a tray which turned out to have coffee and a small selection of pastries on it. He politely acknowledged her presence, and sipped the coffee while she left. As soon as she was gone, he chose one of the pastries and ate it quickly. He had quickly realized why Lina, Gourry, and Amelia had eaten like they had after he'd been cured: magic, even when it's simply using a magical sword, burnt calories like they were gasoline-soaked straw when you were human.  
It was rather easy to understand, now, why even though the kitchen at home was always very well-stocked he spent so much time going out to get even more supplies. He just wasn't sure he wanted to know how he had managed to obtain enough energy for his magic while he was a chimera, even though every so often since he'd been cured he'd made a half-hearted attempt to discover what exactly was the source of power for a stone golem or what a brow demon _ate_.  
It had been somewhat surprising to discover that nobody was sure of the answer to either of those questions, or at least nobody whom he had read yet. Perhaps, once he was settled down, he could research those things in his free time...?  
He smiled slightly to himself, realizing how much that idea appealed to him. 

Amelia finally arrived as he was finishing his coffee, the crumbs of the pastries brushed away and the illusion of having eaten them in a genteel manner fixed firmly in place. He realized as he saw her that she had grown up, and that he hadn't really expected it either. Well, to be truthful, she'd not gotten any taller since he had last seen her, after they'd parted ways after the defeat of Dark Star. She'd grown in other ways, becoming even more beautiful than she'd been back then.  
Those changes were ones he liked. However, she seemed rather unenthusiastic about his return after so long, no less his being cured. He found that disturbing, because however much he might be irritated by her enthusiasm, he couldn't help but enjoy watching her when she was enthusiastic.  
She was built in such a way that only a dead man or a completely homosexual man wouldn't enjoy _that_.  
"Hello, Zelgadiss-san. I'm glad that you've finally come to visit me. It's been such a very long time."  
He nodded, feeling suddenly awkward. "I'm sorry I have taken so long to visit, and didn't send word ahead. I've been very distracted lately."  
She smiled politely. "Yes, I can see that."  
Wanting to prevent silence, he asked, "I've been very out of touch. The last thing I heard of you was that you had been crowned on your 18th birthday and that your father had retired, and I heard about that only by luck."  
Some of her old enthusiasm sparkled in her eyes, and she launched into what was certain to be a long monologue so he could safely try to figure out a new plan. "Oh, you've missed so much! Let's see, there was..." 

Most of what had happened while he was wandering around the world outside where the barrier had lain was boring. A few things were interesting, like having missed Lina and Gourry's wedding, or the fact that the couple had a really cute baby about two years ago. The idea of Lina reproducing was somewhat scary.  
He screened most of it out, though, nodding every so often and making polite noises.  
Then, Amelia said, "I then met Prince Adrian at the ball held for my 19th birthday. He was really polite, and very sweet... I couldn't help falling in love with him."  
While Zelgadiss was looking at her, stunned, she smiled sweetly at him.  
"You were right, Zelgadiss-san. My feelings for you were only a crush. I've realized that I wasn't in love with you, that I'd never really been in love with you. My feelings for Prince Adrian were so much stronger...  
"It didn't even matter to me that he was the youngest son of a prolific ruling couple, or that his homeland is so small that it doesn't even get included on the maps of the outside world. When he proposed to me only a month after we'd met, I said yes without any hesitation or second thoughts."  
"Oh," he said. The feeling of his dreams falling apart because of some stupid little thing he had said turning out to be _right_ had overwhelmed him. There was only one thing left... "When... Are you married to him already?"  
Amelia laughed. "Of course! It's been nearly a year since he proposed!" Zelgadiss winced, as he realized that he hadn't before bothered learning _when_ her birthday was, though she hadn't really made much of an issue of it back when they were traveling together... "We've been married nearly nine months, now..."  
"...and I still feel like we're newlyweds, sometimes. Good morning, Amelia," the new arrival, presumably Prince Adrian, said as he leaned down to kiss Amelia. He looked somewhat like Gourry's evil twin brother, though his hair was a dirty blond and his eyes were dark muddy color instead of a clear blue. "Who's our guest?"  
"Adrian, this is Zelgadiss Greywords. You remember my telling you about him...?"  
Adrian smiled, his face turned so that Amelia was unlikely to see the nasty cast his smile had. "Oh, yes. Your old traveling companion, who was looking for a cure. I see he's found it..." 

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There's very little to say here. I chose to believe the theory I've seen mentioned elsewhere that Amelia's grandfather did the same thing as her sister & ran away. It certainly seems unlikely to me that he is present in Saillune, even in an ailing kind of way, in the canon.  
It also does seem quite likely to me that Prince Philionel would choose to insist on leaving the possibility of his father resuming his abandoned throne open. That requires that he did not even stick around long enough after choosing to leave to abdicate, since then Prince Philionel would have had very little say about the entire thing _then_. 

Reviews are very much welcomed. I will find dark chocolate for myself and cinnamon buns for little Zel and Ame very encouraging and will work harder on this story if they're provided. 


	10. 9 Forgo

Kioku, thanks for the dark chocolate! I'm glad you didn't mind too much what I did to poor Zel; I refuse to say if it this is a dream or not, though, because I've already given the clues needed for somebody to figure out what's going on... (Well, to a certain degree anyway.)  
Claudia, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter. There's not much left until the end at this point.  
The chibis are really happy about having been given the cinnamon buns, Lauren-sama, and I of course am happy to have the hunk of dark chocolate. You might want to go on yet another story-checking rampage, though, since I've updated Blue Lotus and Mr Somewhere once again. I'll be interested in seeing what your theory is after you've reread this... 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**9** +===+ **Forgo**

Zelgadiss wandered down one of the hallways of the palace, not really with any particular destination. He vaguely remembered having told her that her feelings were only a crush once, during one of the times he was trying to both convince himself to just leave her and continue looking for his cure alone and justify to himself following that plan.  
The last thing he had expected was to have been right.  
Zel paused, noticing distractedly that he seemed to be in the servants' quarters. He knew that he should leave, as soon as possible. It didn't matter if it might seem impolite, he couldn't really handle staying. Besides, he had never let _manners_ keep him from leaving Amelia before...  
He had been hearing some rhythmic sounds, but hadn't really been paying attention to them until he realized what he was hearing. Zelgadiss blushed as the noises finished, and the woman asked the man, "Are you sure your wife doesn't know...?"  
The man laughed, and Zelgadiss realized he recognized the man's voice. "Amelia? She'll believe whatever I tell her. She's completely in love with me." The tone of Adrian's voice made it clear that he found that amusing.  
The woman made a dismissive sound. "Used to, the rumors claimed she was in love with some monster."  
"Not anymore. Remember that visitor of hers I left to see this morning? He came back, and I don't think he liked what he saw." Zelgadiss didn't need to see the man to know that he was smirking. "He won't cause me..._us_ any trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already long gone."  
"Oh, the queen will be so sad..." she said with unexpected sympathy. "She did miss him a lot before you arrived."  
"The cunt will get over it," he said dismissively.  
Zelgadiss flung open the door, forgetting that he was no longer a chimera in his fury and he was only preserved from injury by the fact that it had been left slightly open. It was a small room, and the narrow bed was close to the door; he grabbed Adrian, intending to drag him out of the bed. Almost instantly his victim punched him hard in the solar plexus, forcing his breath out.  
He wasn't quite sure what happened just after that. By the time he was quite aware of what was going on, he was on the floor and Adrian was cussing at him and kicking him in the stomach and head, depending on what he was trying to protect. He could hear cloth rustle as the woman dressed, and saw her feet as she quickly left.  
Eventually, he passed out. 

Zelgadiss limped towards Amelia's rooms, cursing himself every step of the way for having forgotten that he was no longer a chimera and had neither his stone skin to protect himself nor most of his magic to heal himself anymore.  
He pushed the door open slowly, only to find Adrian, apparently alone. Zelgadiss froze, a strange sense of foreboding filling him as Adrian looked at him strangely. "She... She was telling the truth, after all," Adrian muttered, a mad glint in his eyes.  
Zelgadiss looked at the man, confused and not quite understanding. Then he noticed a pale, familiar arm hanging off the edge of the couch behind the other man, and didn't want to understand.  
He wasn't sure how long it had taken Adrian to walk to where he stood; the first he became aware that the other man had moved was when he felt himself get picked up by his collar and flung over to the couch. "It's all _your_ fault. She'd be just find if you had never come here, or if you had just _left_ after talking to her this morning.  
"Now I have to explain why my little ticket to power and riches is dead," Adrian said, and kicked Zelgadiss hard just below the ribcage. "Don't you think you should take the blame for it?" the taller, stronger man said with a smirk as he pulled on the bell pull to summon the servants before walking over to where he'd tossed Zel.  
"I think I'll tell them that you killed her because she wouldn't let you have your way with her. I don't want you stinking up _my_ dungeons any longer than I have to, and with a story like that, well... I can get them to execute you in the morning.  
"But, while we wait for the servants and the guards, I might as well amuse myself by beating you up some more..." 

Zel lay on the dirty floor, curled into a ball and feeling miserable. The guards had actually gone and patched him up and even called a healer for him, but it had been obvious that was simply because they wanted him to live thought the night. If Adrian hadn't left him desperately trying to clear his own blood from his throat so he could breathe, the guards would never have even bothered checking his injuries.  
He felt an amazing lack of surprise at how easily Adrian's version of events was accepted. He supposed he understood why nobody questioned it, even though he could tell that some people doubted it. It was clear that the people had loved Amelia, and were eager to have this over and done with, even if that required violating the dead queen's ideals.  
Zelgadiss could tell that he wouldn't have been given a chance to tell his version of the story, even if he had been up to talking at the time. That would have only made things even messier, and forced the whole process to take longer. He wasn't sure he minded it, though.  
Adrian had been right, at least partially. It _had_ been his fault, for having been so impulsive and attacking Adrian instead of going straight to Amelia and telling her. It was his fault she had not known what Adrian had been asking her about then.  
It was his fault for having stayed away from her for so long, and for having lied so much to her. 

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I will admit, I've cheated on Zel's injuries, not going for as could in describing them. I felt like being nice, and also I didn't feel like digging up the references I'd need if I were to spend much more time describing them. 

The chibis are still being generally sweet, so please give them cinnamon buns. I will take reviews and dark chocolate as encouragement to work harder on getting the next chapter written. 


	11. 10 Illusory Me

Wow, over fifty reviews now! I'm so glad this story is so well liked.  
Lauren-sama, I'm afraid that replying to your very nice review would require giving several spoilers for this chapter. I am very interested in knowing how your theory is after the events in this chapter, though.  
Kioku, no, you may not kill Adrian.  
Phizzy-chan, I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm surprised that you're thanking me for Adrian's cheating, though.  
Claudia, what makes you think he's in a dream, no less going to wake up? (BTW, chibi Zel's blissfully ignorant of what's happening to him in this story. But he's always happy when he gets cinnamon buns.)  
blue lady, I'm happy you enjoyed how I dealt with Amelia's death. I've always been told, 'Show, don't tell,' and sometimes that's quite good advice. (Other times, it's not that good.)  
Those who gave cinnamon buns to the chibis, they thank you...and I thank those who gave dark chocolate. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**10** +===+ **Illusory Me**

Zelgadiss didn't even realize that he'd fallen asleep until he was woken up by the feeling of rough hands attaching chains to his wrists. The guards didn't bother waiting for him to wake up and instead dragged him onto a board. There were two quiet clicks as they attached the chain connecting his wrists to the board, and then they dragged him out into the prison's courtyard.  
He wasn't sure how he managed to stay conscious while he was dragged by a horse to the place where he was going to die. Adrian had chosen somewhere outside of the city's walls, and apparently his main requirement was that the journey there from the prison would require going over the most bumpy roads possible. It did _not_ help that people were all too often willing to add to the jarring he was being subjected to.  
It was something of a relief when they finally reached the makeshift execution grounds, and he finally fainted. 

When he came to, he had already been tied to the X-shaped frame that they'd leave his body on to rot. He knew because, even though he couldn't feel his wrists or ankles, he _could_ feel the frame being lifted into a vertical position on the platform, so that the crowd could see that he died.  
He knew exactly what would follow. Somehow the knowledge seemed distant and impersonal, though, just as dry as it had been when Rezo had told him about what had happed all those years ago to the last person who had commited the crime he was accused of and had lived long enough to be executed. Somehow, the idea of his own murder, with Adrian's lies being told as truth, boring young students in the future seemed funny.  
It wasn't, really. He knew that.  
The first spear was unexpected, and he vaguely noted that the person handling it didn't seem to be very good. He could tell that, while the spearman had managed to stick the blade into his guts, the blade most certainly missed anything vital. It was funny, how it didn't hurt. The scream he had heard as it went in couldn't have been his.  
The second one hurt, though. The person holding it dropped the point as it went it, ripping open a hole in Zel's side. He screamed, and tasted a frothy, coppery liquid on his tounge.  
As the blades were slowly pulled out of his body, he surrendered to the vastly less painful darkness again. 

He knew that he was hallucinating. They would never have cut him down, no less put him in a soft bed. _This must be the afterlife_, he decided. If he was still alive, he would be in pain, and the world would be a much more clearly defined place. He relaxed and let himself slip back out of awareness. 

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I know, I know, this is a short chapter. I don't care. It's just the length I wanted it to be. I'm inclined to let it be the last chapter...  
The method of execution used is based off of second-hand research of a method of execution used in feudal Japan. If anybody has any idea where I might find more information, I'd be really happy if they'd share that idea with me.  
Reviews, particularly ones with dark chocolate for me and cinnamon buns for the chibis, will influence me a lot. 


	12. 11 Eudaimonia

Sorry about the delay in getting this up, but there's so many reviews to reply to, I couldn't finish this in time to post Saturday! (Also, poor little Zel got sick from all the cinnamon buns people sent him.)  
Kioku, I've _no_ idea what you're referring to...and you _**still**_ aren't allowed to kill Adrian. Thanks for the cinnamon buns for the chibis and the dark chocolate for myself. You must have some really big mosquitoes were you are...  
Lauren-sama, thanks! I'm sorry your theory seems to be adrift now, it has been quite interesting. (I still refuse to say if it is or isn't accurate in any way.) I tend to leave chapters' ends where they want to lie, things work out best that way.  
Phizzy-chan, thanks for the dark chocolate and cinnamon buns. I'm a bit confused on how Amelia might have saved Zel, what with her having been murdered by her husband and all... Ah, well. It'd still be deserving of being called horror if she had turned up to save him.  
blue lady, no comment. Read this chapter. Thanks for the dark chocolate and the cinnamon buns.  
Amechan, in no particular order: That's alright, I'm used to reading English as rendered by those for whom it's a second language. That is something of a traditional joke. I don't think I want to know what you've been reading lately, then. You're the only person to cheer Adrian on. Really, the description was that good? Enjoy the new chapter, and thanks for the dark chocolate & cinnamon buns.  
Winged Dancer, I miss talking to you! I forgive you, though... I'm sorry I was a bit lazy about many of Zel's injuries, but I can't easily go back and add more because I've discovered that my references don't quite agree on the kinds of injuries a beating can produce _anyway_. Adrian was meant to be despicable, so I'll take that as a complement. The part about Zel being dragged by a horse is a reference to one of the traditional methods of executing traitors. I will try hard to keep posting 'pretty things' if you'll do the same! 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**11** +===+ **Eudaimonia**

_Hell_, Zelgadiss decided, _is amazingly boring_. It seemed to consist completely of being tucked into a bed and feeling vague. The universe was out of focus, and he couldn't feel his body or smell anything.  
The place looked neat, though unused. The sheets were shiny and dark blue, and from the way his body lay on the mattress he suspected that under other circumstances he'd think it a very soft bed. It helped that it seemed that he was going to spend his sentence as a chimera and not a human; he was woefully out of practice at evaluating how any given mattress might react to his human body.  
The bedstead was made of some dull, black metal worked in fancy patterns with four posts that normally would support curtains. There was something wrong with the pattern, but he couldn't see it clearly enough to tell. He wasn't sure he wanted to, either.  
He had a good enough idea of what Hellmaster Phibrizo's decorative taste was like to know that it would very likely be something he would wish he never had seen clearly should he be so unfortunate enough for the world to come back into focus while he was looking at it.  
Unfortunately, the ceiling, quite visible with the curtains gone, was covered with a mural and the walls themselves all had paintings. No matter which direction he looked in, there was always a risk of seeing something he would rather not see should he start seeing the world clearly again.  
He closed his eyes, and let himself drift back into the darkness. 

Something wet was being touched to his lips. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see a tall, effeminate-looking mazoku was tending to him. The mazoku smiled, a cheerful smile that was quite definitely honest if the mazoku's pale eyes, so pale that he couldn't tell if they were yellow or green, were any indictation.  
Zelgadiss had the disquieting feeling that this mazoku was not at all like _any_ of the mazoku he had ever met before. They were rather infamous for nursing people quite rarely, and never doing so with such pure happiness about the idea of actually helping another being heal.  
It was impossible to think that any mazoku might do so for somebody out of complete kindness and without expection of repayment.  
The mazoku suddenly giggled, one hand covering his mouth politely in a feminine gesture, pushing his long pale blue hair to the side. "Don't worry, dear. You _are_ good-looking, but I would _never_ cheat on my Ahitsushi-sama! He can be very jealous for a sheep."  
Zelgadiss paused as that particular message processed, deciding that while it was nice to know that particular kind of favor wouldn't be asked of him, it did _not_ make him feel any better about the situation.  
Zel closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again the strange mazoku would be gone. 

The mazoku was still there when he opened his eyes again. "Good morning, Greywords-san! Did you know that you talk in your sleep?"  
Zelgadiss almost groaned, then realized that if he really had been sleeping, then... "I'm alive...?"  
"Barely! You really should be more careful where you go. Phibrizo-sama's defenses against trespassers are very strict. I'm not really sure why he left me here to guard the place..." The mazoku smiled cheerfully. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"  
Zelgadiss shook his head, and the mazoku stood up straight. The mazoku was wearing a tight dark blue tunic and leggings under the most decorative and feminine armor Zelgadiss had ever seen. He bowed politely. "I am Phibrizo-sama's general, Jalon. Welcome to Hell." 

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Jalon's sheep is named 'male sheep.' Deal. Also, the L in his name is pronounced in the Japanese manner, a sound that's somewhere between the sounds of R and L in English.  
I hope some of you already guessed where Zel was before now... 

Anyway, dark chocolate & reviews for me and cinnamon buns for the chibis will be welcomed. If you want more of my work right now, try reading Mr Somewhere, which I recently finished. 


	13. 12 Dead Language

Kioku, you're the only one of my regular reviewers who reviewed this time, and you even provided cinnamon buns (and milk) for the chibis and dark chocolate for me! Thank you! I know what you're talking about now since you've given me some context. (Jalon's Amelia-like?)  
Thank you so much for reviewing, Alea Seikou! I'm getting so few reviews right now... I'm glad you've been enjoying this story, even though it doesn't go quite directly through events. The trigger for Zel's different 'visions' can be guessed from what happens before each one starts. I will tell you what it is if you guess correctly, but otherwise that's all I'll say about the subject. 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**12** +===+ **Dead Language**

Zelgadiss spent several weeks in bed, healing from his wounds. Jalon visited at random times, bringing food, new bandaging, and always asking Zel why he was there.  
He really didn't know why Jalon would be asking. He was dead, right? Dead people go to the afterlife, and in his case he got to go to Hell.  
Eventually, though, Zelgadiss realized that he probably was still alive after all, and possibly even in reality for once. 

He also, eventually, would realize what the right answer to Jalon's question was. "I was looking for a way to turn myself human again."  
There was a crash of dishes hitting the floor, as Jalon had not been expecting to hear anything from his sullen patient. He had only asked why he happened to have a guest when he had arrived, and that had been at least fifteen minutes earlier. "What?"  
"I came here because I was told that strange things happen here, and I thought there might be a cure for me here, or at least a lead..."  
"But... You're so strong and powerful and..._handsome_ as you are right now! Why would you ever want to be human?"  
Zelgadiss looked warily at Jalon, wondering if perhaps the strange mazoku had been having relationship problems with his ram. "Because I don't like it."  
"Well, it could certainly interfere with being the dominant partner in sexual encounters, but..."  
"_I. Do. **Not.** Do. That._ I prefer _women_."  
"That's a shame."  
Zelgadiss decided to ignore that comment. "So, is there anything here that might help me?"  
Jalon looked thoughtful for a few minutes. "I _think_ there's something in the library that might help. I'll look." 

Zel was quite hungry by the time Jalon returned. Jalon had a big bowl of a substance that he often passed off as stew and a large, ancient tome with him. He was also grinning in a way that Zelgadiss did not like.  
"I found it! It took me a few days, but I found it!"  
_Well_, Zelgadiss thought as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, _**that** explains why I'm so hungry._  
Jalon put the bowl in Zel's lap, with the very tip of the spoon's handle sticking up out of the mysterious sludge inside the bowl. Zelgadiss was about to try to fish the spoon out when the book was stuck in between his hands and the bowl, open to where a bookmark had been placed in it. It took Zel only a few seconds to determine that whatever language the writing was in, it was most likely dead.  
It certainly wasn't one he knew, and he said as much.  
"According to this, in the worst section of the Desert of Destruction, there's a magical oasis. The spring-fed lake is supposed to be able to nullify all active spells and, with the right process, can be used to break any curse." Jalon was unbelievably cheerful about this.  
"Thank you for your help. I should leave, _soon_. At dawn tomorrow, perhaps." Zelgadiss was in no hurry to _stay_, even though he knew that he still wasn't completely healed from his near-fatal wounds. The risk of problems from them would be worth being away from Jalon.  
Eagerly, Jalon said, "Will you give me a chance to show you how wonderful..."  
"_**No!**_" Zelgadiss scrambled for an excuse Jalon would accept. "I need to get as much sleep as possible before then. Some other time, maybe."  
Jalon sighed and pulled the book away. "Fine, then. I'll prepare a map for you while you're sleeping." 

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Yes, another short chapter. Oh well.  
Mazoku have no healing spells, so Zelgadiss has to heal naturally. With such bad wounds as Zel has, and with such absent-minded care as Jalon provides, they're healing rather slowly. Poor Zel's lucky they're not infected (yet).  
The stew is possibly sandy glue. It may not be, though. 

Reviews will make me really happy and enthusiastic about writing more. Dark chocolate for myself and cinnamon buns for the chibis will add to this. 


	14. 13 And the Wood Comes Into Leaf

Kioku: Yes, Amelia is too shy (when it comes to this kind of thing) to be as forward as Jalon, who has no shame. You're right, the chibis cuddling with treats under a blanket is a sweet thing to see. Adult Zel made a sound which I'm choosing to interpret as a thank-you for the cinnamon buns, and I thank you for the chocolates.  
Raven Summersong: Thank you, it's always nice to know that my efforts to make the transitions smooth have been successful. Thank you also for the chocolate strawberries (please excuse the snicker, it's an in-joke) and the chibis send their thanks, too, for the chocolate donuts. (Chibi Ame in particular is happy about them.)  
Alea Seikou: Um, he's not left Hell yet... I'm glad you're liking Jalon, though. About your theory, no comment. But I hope this chapter is up to your expectations...  
Lauren-sama: Oh dear. Well, at least you reviewed before I got this chapter up...  
On the first review: I'm glad my explanation was good enough to keep you from missing your theory that much after its demise. A lot of your questions regarding what's been happening will be answered at the bottom of this chapter... I'm glad you like Jalon, who is quite intentionally different for a mazoku since he's supposed to be somebody whom Phibrizo would ultimately deny having created and would never let out into public. I'm very happy you liked the bit about the sheep, too.  
On the second review: Jalon may be turning up again later...and I'll keep your desire to have his ram turn up in mind, too. I'm pleased that somebody, at least, has been enjoying how he and Zelgadiss interact, since I've had a couple doubts on how well he'd go over. Thank you so much for the dark chocolate! 

Slayers is the creation of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own it; they and a lot of other people do. I'm not making any profit off of this story. 

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**Idylls**  
+=== A Slayers Fanfic by Ryo Hoshi  
**13** +===+ **And the Wood Comes Into Leaf**

Zelgadiss wasn't sure how much time passed before he saw Jalon again. He didn't have much to do, and the light was always dim, muted; he still had not discovered the source, since once he felt up to getting out of bed he had found out that the room was windowless and that the door was actually an amazingly realistic illusion. Food turned up every so often while he was asleep, though, and other things were taken care of regularly enough that he felt inclined to be a polite guest for a bit longer.  
It was getting hard to convince himself to remain patient, though. He wasn't going to be delayed for much longer by his wounds. He knew that he would have left much sooner, had he not discovered that infection had set in when he had finally recovered enough to consider using a healing spell on himself. Zelgadiss had been quite lucky that it was only a minor infection, only bad enough to give him a bit of a fever, but he remembered Amelia having been quite adamant that no healing spells should be used on any wounds that had been infected.  
He wasn't that happy about it, but he had understood why. It was better to put up with letting himself heal with abysmal slowness, with the agonizing wait for his skin to become as strong as it had been before and no longer so vulnerable, than have an even more serious infection on his hands. It would have helped if he had something to do other than the most basic motions of life while he waited. 

Zelgadiss woke up suddenly as a weight seemingly dropped out of nowhere and landed on top of him. He blinked a few times before he realized that the weight was Jalon, who was straddling his waist...  
Zel yelped and scrambled to pull himself out from under the mazoku, blushing the entire time.  
"I see you're nearly fully healed!" Jalon announced cheerfully. Zelgadiss's blush deepened as he realized that he had been sleeping in the nude and he quickly held a pillow in a strategic position to protect what was left of his modesty. "I suppose you'll be glad to hear that I finished copying out the map... I'm really sorry it took so long, but I decided it would be a good idea if I copied out and translated the passage about the oasis for you, too."  
"Thank you, Jalon-san. Maybe I should get dressed and leave _now_; I've imposed on your hospitality for too long already."  
"Please, wait a little while longer. It would be rude of me to not see if I could find anything in the way of supplies for you, when you have done me such a favor as bringing news of my master's demise." Jalon grinned at Zelgadiss's confused expression. "You talk in your sleep, and you also babbled about some very interesting things while you had that fever..."  
_**Damn!**_ Zelgadiss thought, _that fever must have been worse than I remembered..._  
Jalon hopped off the bed. "You really do need to be less uptight about your feelings. There's nothing wrong with loving other people, even if they're not what you're supposed to be in love _with_," he said with a cheerful smile before leaving Zelgadiss to sit there and be very, very confused. 

Zelgadiss had been somewhat surprised to discover that his own personal kit and his clothes had come through completely intact, but then careful inspection revealed the faint traces of stains and repaired rips whose causes he found himself very disinclined to think about. His food supply had been replaced, though, which he suspected was something to be thankful for given that it had already been getting noticeably old when he had arrived at the edge of Hell.  
Being carried through the astral plane by a mazoku was definitely not an experience he wanted to repeat, but he was glad that Jalon had been willing to dump him outside of the walls of sand that made up the outer walls of Hell. Zel carefully oriented himself, using the sun and his & Jalon's shadows to determine which direction he wanted to head in. Then, with a deep, calming breath, he turned to Jalon. "Jalon-san, thank you for all that you have done for me."  
Jalon sighed. "I suppose that's all the thanks you'll give me," he said mournfully.  
Zelgadiss twitched, remembering the mazoku's after-breakfast proposal of a quickie. "I prefer women."  
"You do keep saying that..." Jalon said with an air of resignation.  
Feeling that he had won, Zelgadiss started walking away. "Goodby..."  
Zelgadiss froze as a pair of lips touched his own in a passionate kiss in mid-farewell. Jalon pulled away slowly from the stunned chimera, smiling cheerfully. "A kiss, for luck."  
"Ah..."  
Jalon gave Zel a gentle push, copping a feel as he did so. "Unless you want me to drag you back to the bed for more, you should start walking again," he said with a wink before teleporting away.  
Zelgadiss couldn't remember the last time he felt so happy about _leaving_ a place. 

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I suppose at this point I should explain a bit of what happened...  
Phibrizo's headquarters are, according to various canonical resources, in the Desert of Destruction; Sairagg was taken over specifically for the events of NEXT. There is, as far as I know, nothing in the canon about it beyond that. Thus my description of Hell is made up almost completely from whole cloth.  
So, really, aside from the prologue this entire story is technically set within the borders of Hell itself. 

This is the last chapter of Idylls. This story will be continued in Shikar which I will be starting posting on Saturday. Meanwhile, please read Mr Somewhere, which is also continued in Shikar. Also, replies to all reviews of this chapter made before the second chapter will be included in that chapter's AN. Dark chocolate for myself and cinnamon buns for the chibis will certainly encourage me to work hard to maintain my current speed of writing. 


End file.
